WE DO HAVE FRIENDS!!!!!

Since we have been in Oregon it has been a very difficult time since we have been friendless here! Well here is the proof that WE DO HAVE FRIENDS!!!!

And here they are! We picked them up on Tuesday but because of work didn't really get to spend time with him until Friday! We took them to the local Auction. You see that huge cabinet to the right of Spencer? Yeah I bought it for $10.00! Talk about impulse buy!

On Saturday we went to the beach but I was SICK AS A DOG! I did pretty good but eventually I was just done. Luckily we were down to the beach by that time...

Before the Beach we went to the Pig n' Pancake! It was okay but we were so starving by this time that nothing really lived up to our expectations. It is kinda sad that we waited so long to eat. Brent had the huge Breakfast vs Burger Debate. He decided on the Burger but almost immediately regretted it!

Erica is hiding behind her menu to show us what their menu looks like it!

While walking around the Pier in Seaside, we found these. Chocolate covered.... EVERYTHING!!! We also found Deep-fried EVERYTHING! I was really tempted to get a chocolate covered Twinkies but not feeling well won out so I settled for ice cream.

Down at the beach we had the Boogie Boards. Erica and I decided to not go out into the waves but Brent and Spencer had a heck of a time!

There are the boys! Brent looks freezing! His motto was "You just keep running until you aren't cold anymore!" Oh hypothermia you are a deceitful little friend!

Notice how I am not in my swim suit?!? Yup, as soon as we got on the beach I laid down, covered my eyes and fell asleep. I was really having a hard day. As the result I got sunburned in all the wrong places! From my ankles down, the front of my right arm and the back side of my left arm (since it was covering my eyes!) and I had a white strip across my face from my arm!

All in all it was a fun trip but I did not bring my A game to my friendship! Erica and Spencer I am sincerely sorry and will fix that next time you come out! It was super fun and I always have a great time when they come out! We should really never live more than 10 minutes apart!

Love you guys!

Catching up: Auction, Parade, Pool and School!

Wow, I have been a lot more busy than I was expecting. With the end of school and jumping into camps next week I have been running around crazy. Honestly I haven;'t been happier since I got here! This weekend I was also able to get re certified as a lifeguard and a swim instructor! Why, you may ask? Because I just thought it would be a fun idea and it was really fun to be back in the water again and get to know the new pool staff!

Okay now to catch up on what else we have been doing since I last blogged!! I have been driving past this building since I first moved to Oregon City when I was Six! Brent decided to break me out of the box so last Friday (6/11).

As we were walking in we were greeted by the local pirate!
The Auction hall was totally run down, small town and AMAZINGLY FUN! These were the three guys who were running the show! I was never quite sure what they were going to bring up but most items when for around 7-10 dollars!

We were number 413 and I did bid on a few things but unfortunately I was always out bid!

We also went to watch Kalen in the Rose Festival Parade! We were there for about 40 minutes and I think that was the perfect amount of time!

Brent looking super tired! There were really cool amazing police brigade who would perform these amazing arrangements. In one the policeman stood on the seat and superman flew across the street about 100 yards!

When the hippo's mouth opens there is a boy playing the drums on the hippo's teeth!

And Kalen Performing in the back!

WE HAVE HAD ONE NICE DAY! SO YOU BET I SPENT IT BY THE POOL! In four days I read four books! I was just addicted to reading and Brent almost had to wrestle the book out of my hands!

Yeah for me reading the book Beach Blonds. The next book is called Tan Lines and I am looking out for it all the time!

My Kids! At Preschool, my kids are really cute! Especially the petting zoo was adorable! This is Karissa!

On the left is Hannah. She is so good natured and smart! I love her so so much! And on the right is Matayah! She has such a big personality! We did battle more than a few times but in the end she is always fun!

It has been a busy couple of weeks but have been so much fun! I am terrified tomorrow for when my camps start! Wish me luck!

Good Buy

This weekend I had the pleasure of going to a defensive driving course for my work (since I will be driving a wonderful mini bus). The class lasted four hours and it was the most pointless four hours of my life. It consisted mainly of older people who apparently had never had their drivers licenses and would ask questions like "how do you know when you can pass another car?" (the dotted line) and "If a police officer is off on the shoulder with no lights on should I still be pulling over to the side until he passes?" (Okay if you don't know the answer to that mail me your car key's right this second because YOU should not be driving).

My favorite question of the day, by far, was an old man who out of the blue asked "Lesa (teacher), what is your take on properly adjusted mirrors?". Seriously what was she going to say "Oh sir I do not believe mirrors should ever be properly adjusted! That would make sense and be safe".

So I was in a class with a bunch of people who shouldn't be sharing the road with me and a teacher who was much to willing to indulge them. When we got to the merging topic it was like no one had just been on the freeway to get here! Maybe I am being to harsh... the class was four hours and I could have received more information in about 60 minutes of well focused lecture... People are stupid I guess is my point.

After that I was pretty riled! Brent met me out (after he had been packing books at the local library because they are moving) in Clackamas. We had to return somethings at old navy, and then we went out to Olive Garden! It was really nice just having a sit down time with Brent. We both had the Soup, Salad and Bread Sticks and even splurged on a piece of Raspberry Cheesecake! This was thanks to Erica and Spencer who gave us a gift card! WE LOVE AND MISS YOU GUYS SO MUCH YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY HAVE NO IDEA!!! WE MAY NEVER LEAVE YOU AGAIN!

We chatted about everything but it was nice having some real time to spend and just relax not thinking about our next deadline or other work we should be doing. It was a great time to reconnect because we have both been disoriented since the move. After lunch we went to Kohl's and looked for my perfect swim suit. My favorite option is there and Brent thought it looked really good. Although I couldn't see why because after all that food I am not sure ANYTHING could have looked good on me! I still haven't committed by purchasing because I really want this swimsuit to be one I will be in love with in Europe! For some reason I took less time to chose my wedding dress! Luckily Brent's mom gave me the funds for my perfect swim suit for my Birthday so I get to take my time and buy something at (dare I say it?) SALE PRICE!!! (instead of Clearance that is, I don't think I could ever pay FULL PRICE! That would just feel wrong!)

FINALLY TO THE GOOD BUY PART! Once at home Dad, Brent and myself set out for a book store, which was closed. We stumbled into an indoor garage sale and looked around. WE FOUND SOMETHING THAT WAS A TOTAL STEAL!

A CAT TOWER!!!
These Huge towers are normally $120-$150 new and $40-$90 used... This beauty cost us a total of... $5.00. The top is no longer covered in twine which we can either saw off or re wrap for another $2.00. We are so happy with this and think Caliah will really enjoy having a tower to look down at the rest of her palace from. Plus if we ever need to sell it I am confident I can get $20.00 for it no problem! YEAH! This may be a small victory but for looking for so long I am completely satisfied! I was patient and it paid off in the end... BIG TIME!

Anyone else have a good find story? Lets hear it!

Birthday Week! (LONG POST)

So in Brent's post of 23 reasons why he loved me he did get right when he said I get excited for my Birthday week. That is right I like to take the week to celebrate my birthday! Lets face it one day a year just doesn't feel like enough! This birthday week seemed pretty tame in comparison to past years. This time I worked a normal for the first part of the week and besides getting my way from Brent all week nothing felt very different. UNTIL May 26th at 3:00 pm when I got the phone call that my sister (Audrey) was FINALLY IN LABOR!!! She was due on the 22nd but it just didn't happen so I was pretty excited. Well of course I never thought that I would ACTUALLY be sharing my birthday but of course I get a picture message from Toren at 3:00 am of my newest little nephew and Birthday mate!

The next day at school was torture! All I wanted all day was to see little Austin and finally after work I was actually able go and visit! He is so tiny! I wish I had gotten a picture of Brent holding Austin because he looked so natural! He is going to be a REALLY attractive dad one day!

This is the Happy Little Family! Audrey looks amazing for just having a baby and I love that she was really willing to talk to me about how labor really feels! I am still pretty terrified but she still makes it sound like it is totally worth it!
I continued to check on Austin everyday. On Friday at my weekly preschool meeting it was both Tammy (the other schools teacher) birthday on the 24th and mine of the 27th. So our wonderful Boss (Mom) gave us both $25 gift certificates to Barnes and Noble. So I finally got the book "The Uglies". I have been looking for this book forever but now thanks to my mommy/boss I was able to get it and now I am over half way done with it!

Saturday morning The family decided to go to the famous Portland Saturday Market! It is a bunch of Artisans booths!

Kalen was looking at some very cool hair pins with glass beads. I really liked the bracelets, which Kalen took to heart.

Brent found a ton of amazing looking stuff. Including the Japanese booth. They were gorgeous and if we had a home or money I am sure we would have been way more tempted to purchase things!

This little dragon is a whistle. It was so cool and my mom bought them for her school! The three note whistle is perfect for preschoolers and I pretty much mastered Hot Cross Buns!

This is something really neat. It is a BIRD FEEDER! I feel like I could make something like this but it wouldn't really look as professionally done. I still think it would be an amazing task to try!

The Saturday market is set up right against the river which is gorgeous!

There is also fountains all over. I love watching kids playing in the fountain even though is was drizzling the entire day!

Plus another fountain... The max train separated two parts of the market. There was a Soap Boxer. I am not exactly sure what his message was but it was interesting to watch him so committed to his cause.

Afterward Brent and I felt like eating out so we went to the local Buffet (We both just felt like eating ALOT of FOOD!!!) It was okay, not what I remember it being but the remodel made it look really really good!

Today we had the official Birthday Dinner. I chose Lemon chicken with rice and peas. I have been feeling pretty off this entire week so I was only able to handle one piece of my delicious triple chocolate and creme cake. It is pretty much a Forsberg Tradition and I bet Brent and Audrey think my mom only knows how to make one type of cake.

After Dinner I finally chose to open my presents. Brent was pretty impressed that I was able to wait 3 days past my actual Birthday. It was pretty easy for me!

The first present I opened was from Blair. Despite being on a mission he still remembered and gave me a loving Gift. He wrote me a letter and bought me a spoon from Pensacola, a shell he got at the gulf coast, a Hungarian translation sheet, and candy! The letter was by far the best!

My Mom got me this great talking card! Take a Listen it is super funny! I had to listen to it 3-4 times! My mom knows me pretty well!

Along with that they gave me two tickets to Broadway's "THE LION KING!" It is for July 3rd. I am going with Toren, Audrey, Blake, Maren and if Brent is lucky I will be nice enough to take him!

Brent's Mom went above and beyond! She gave me $50.00 for a new swim suit (WHICH I HAVE BEEN SO WANTING TO GET ONE FOR EUROPE!) along with mineral make up, and some air freshners to make our trip to Europe even better!

Kalen gave me one of the bracelets I was admiring at Saturday Market. Brent got me a new pair of jeans (which I need to trade for a different size) and a pedicure! Of course I feel bad because he hinted that I could get one tomorrow and I chewed him out that we couldn't afford. Well he really showed me!

Of course my best present was my new little nephew! I seriously can not get enough of this kid!

It was a really good Birthday week. I love being in my EARLY-20's despite what Brent says. I am so happy to be sharing my birthday with such a sweet little guy and really appreciate all the love I am getting from my family and friends! I am so lucky to be able to have a family (and especially a husband) who will put up with a whole week of Birthday excitement! Brent also has a Birthday Date planned. Since the weather has been so crummy we weren't able to do it but I will make sure to post pictures when we do! Thank you to everyone! HonestlyI really feel like 23 is going to be a really difficult year but that I am going to have more adventures than anything else I have ever experienced! Hopefully I will make the Best of EVERYTHING!

Happy Birthday Mallory!

Today is my wonderful wife's 23rd birthday!!! In honor of her hitting her MID-Twenties, I thought I would say happy birthday with 23 reasons she is special!


1. Mallory introduced herself to me via a handwritten note ala 7th grade style

2. Mallory is the hardest working girl I've ever met, and it has helped make life so much easier

3. I think Mallory gets more excited for her birthday "week" than most kids do

4. Mallory is an expert at baby talk--maybe because she uses it so much

5. Mallory loves to call me a "sickness-stealer" anytime i have a headache within 1 day of her being sick

6. Mallory is a very giving person. On our honeymoon, I couldn't get her to buy anything for herself, but she couldn't stop shopping for everyone else.
7. Mallory Loves to travel and has made it a goal to visit all 7 continents, yes even antartica....she can do that alone I think

8.Mallory is the only girl I know that has a picture of her dad on the dash of her car

9. Mallory gets worked up over the smallest of injuries and will make me tape her fingers together for almost no reason


10. Mallory is a very good momma to her kitty, and insisted that counted for mother's day

11. Mallory, who hates watching baseball, has almost single-handedly made going to a mariners game an annual tradition

12. I make Mallory put up with more than anyone should have to, but she still supports all my stupid hobbies

13. Mallory gets legitimately upset if I make a funny face during pictures


14. Mallory is very easy to cheer up, all you have to know is a few tricks, like cake or french fries or to make fun of her until she gets so mad she laughs--warning, this last one can seriously backfire if not performed flawlessly

15. Although Mallory gets bored very easily, she is easy to entertain, as long as you don't try to make her choose

16. Mallory knows when she is being a brat, will admit it, then keep it up

17. Mallory would sleep for 20 hours a day if she had time, but she still waits up for me if I am working late....which means I never pulled any late studying nights

18. When Mallory finds a good book, Mallshe will finish it in 24 hours...when she finds a good movie, she will watch it four times in one week, and when she finds a good cd, she will listen to that one song for a week

19. Mallory's idea of packing me lunch is buying a box of easy mac and one of jello cups, but if that's not enough she encourages me to go out for lunch as well

20. Mallory is willing to do things she hates just to make me happy, i.e. shopping for books, or spending time in the cold
21. One time I referred to a big river as a lake, and it made her happier each time she told the story for the next year

22. Mallory loves just about everything to do with animals, and would cuddle with just about any willing animal



23. Mallory is such a fun girl, she is always up for anything!


Happy birthday Mallory! I love you, and hope you have an awesome birthday week!

Only Oregon City Day

For those of you who don't know, I am not a naturally calm person. I usually have a lot of energy and wasting time is not something I enjoy. So this past Saturday Brent and I decided that we wanted to go out but didn't want to go far away, thus we decided to have an ONLY OREGON CITY DAY! Now my home town has about 30,000 people in it and is a good size but there is not a lot of thrilling activity and it really has a good small town feel... really the movie theater is all teens can do without hitting the freeway. Well since it was Saturday, this little town has a two row farmers market! There were gorgeous bouquets of flowers for only $7.00. Brent said he would have gotten me some if I weren't standing right there and also because he knows I find flowers terribly sleep but also a waste of money after the initial surprise! He is kinda sweet and considerate when he wants to be!

We saw this sign! It reminded me of something really corny I would do with customers at enterprise... I would say "no smoking and no pets, and for sure no smoking pets" I didn't do it with everyone but old men always thought I was so witty and laughed really hard... I maintain it was worth it!
This was a REALLY small farmers market and we would have gotten a better picture but there was no where that we really felt comfortable, so this is just right before we left!
Then we hit the local paperback exchange. You can turn in your old paperbacks and get new ones. I didn't have any to turn is so we just went shopping. This is the book wicked (like the play) and I thought it was pretty neat that the binding was Green! (okay maybe not as excited as I look!)
Out in front there is a bin that is 3 books for $1.00. Brent went through and picked out books for me. This was one of them... could my 26 year old husband be getting a little baby hungry? Maybe... If baby Austin would just show up it may be a different story!!!

Right around the corner from the paper back exchange is the local pet store! Look at the cute little bunny! There were also some really cute dogs and a kitten that looked just like my baby girl Caliah!
So you may be wondering why there are so many pictures of me and none of Brent. Well here was his attitude of picture taking... this was at a bookstore downtown with an art exhibit on the other side!

After we finished at the downtown bookstore we found this... A masonic temple! I couldn't believe it! I must have driven past this a million times and never noticed it!
It doesn't really fit with the rest of the block either huh!
While downtown we passed the elevator. If used to be hydro powered. It was raining really hard so we decided to stay undercover and pass on the ride to the top. We have done it before!
It was a really fun outing. Nothing amazing happened but we were just excited to get out and about. Oregon City may not be thrilling but there was enough to keep us entertained for a few hours before I went home to read and Brent went to the movie Robin Hood with the rest of the family. Does anyone have any good ideas for what to do for our next outing?

Preschool Story

So while we are in Oregon I am teaching at my Mom's preschool. Kids are so funny so I thought this would be good to keep some record of funny thing kids do and say so here is my first story...

We didn't tell the kids that she was my mom but because kids are wicked smart they all figured it out within the first day. They still call me Teacher Mallory and Her Teacher Cheryl and I call her Cheryl when we are in front of the kids. Well the first week I was just observing Cheryl teach and figuring out how the day goes and each of the kids names.

One day when the kids went into the sand box my mom let them take off their shoes! The kids loved it but it was a nightmare. None of the kids knew how to put their shoes back on and it tracked in more sand than anything! So the next week one of the little boys asked "Teacher Mallory, can we take off our shoes?" I said "No, we aren't going to take off our shoes this time."

That is when a little girl named Dalyah came up to me and with the more attitude than most teenagers said "Your MOM said we can take off our shoes!"

It was so funny! I don't even remember what I said but it was obvious she just pulled out a "Your Mom" Statement without even knowing out! It was amazing!